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Uh-Oh: QAnon Cult Has Seized Control Of Arizona's Republican Party

Uh-Oh: QAnon Cult Has Seized Control Of Arizona's Republican Party

State Sen. Janae Shamp

When Arizona Republican legislators recently debuted a committee that was accused of QAnon signaling with its acronym, chair and state Sen. Janae Shamp responded by claiming it was “a goofy accusation.” But a review of Shamp's own Facebook posts found that she has frequently promoted the conspiracy theory: She has posted QAnon videos; forwarded conspiracy theories from QAnon influencers; and shared QAnon slogans, including the phrase of the acronym in question.

Republicans in Arizona set up a committee chaired by Shamp to purportedly “examine federal, state and local efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Its most recent hearing was filled with COVID-19 conspiracy theories.) They named it the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee, using the acronym “NCSWIC.” Reporters and QAnon experts soon raised questions about whether they were nodding to QAnon, which uses NCSWIC to stand for “nothing can stop what is coming.” (QAnon followers basically believe what’s coming is Trump arresting or destroying the supposed deep state.)

Arizona state Senate GOP spokesperson Kim Quintero called the line of questioning about QAnon “absolutely ridiculous” and “BS.” And Shamp responded to the controversy by tweeting: “What a goofy accusation! Sometimes an acronym is just an acronym.”

Yet Shamp herself has repeatedly shared the phrase “nothing can stop what is coming.” And her Facebook page leaves no doubt that she’s a QAnon devotee who is deeply immersed in the violence-linked conspiracy theory.

The following are among numerous examples of Shamp promoting QAnon-tied propaganda on social media. (This is just a sampling of her voluminous activity.)

  • In a post claiming the 2020 election was stolen, Shamp shared the QAnon phrase “Nothing can stop what is coming.” (She copied the post from a QAnon-supporting Telegram account)
  • She also shared a Trump campaign image that includes the phrase “Nothing can stop what is coming”
  • Shamp shared the QAnon phrase “WWG1WGA” (“where we go one, we go all”).
  • Shamp shared a video she credited to the Gab account Qanon211 to downplay the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
  • Shamp has frequently promoted content she credited to the QAnon influencer collective We The Media. Her shared content includes a false claim about Dominion Voting Systems stealing the election and a video downplaying January 6. She also shared their pro-QAnon video that featured the “where we go one, we go all” phrase.
  • Shamp additionally shared a We The Media video featuring QAnon imagery, writing: “I know I've shared this video before but I do believe it is worth sharing a thousand more times!”
  • Shamp posted a video including the text “WE ARE THE STORM” -- a popular phrase among QAnon followers.
  • Shamp posted a video titled “The Trump Wave by ItalyQanons.”
  • Shamp said that she listens to the QAnon show X22 Report “nightly” and also likes the QAnon show BardsFM.
  • Shamp shared a post from a QAnon-themed Twitter account which pushed the conspiracy theory that the Clintons killed Monica Petersen because they wanted to hide their sex trafficking.
  • Shamp has cited Ron Watkins (aka “CodeMonkey”), a QAnon influencer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Arizona, in pushing election conspiracy theories.
  • Shamp has repeatedly shared content that she’s sourced to Praying Medic, a QAnon influencer.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer Stormy Patriot Joe.
  • Shamp shared a quote that she attributed to QAnon influencer Jordan Sather.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer InevitableET.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer KanekoaTheGreat.
  • Shamp has repeatedly shared the QAnon-promoting account AnonPatriotQ, including to push election denialism.
  • Shamp shared a video from the QAnon influencer aTimeQ that features the QAnon-aligned slogan “the Great Awakening.”

In addition to Shamp, Arizona state Sens. David Farnsworth, Wendy Rogers, and Justine Wadsack have endorsed or promoted QAnon. Arizona sheriff Mark Lamb, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has also been attempting to appeal to QAnon followers.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

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